Govt asks MoH to set up one govt hospital each in all local units

KATHMANDU, March 21: The government has asked the Ministry of Health (MoH) to set up at least a 15-bed hospital in each of the newly-created 744 local units.

A committee recently formed by the government under the leadership of Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi directed the ministry to make all the necessary arrangements for the purpose.

"As per the constitution and approved work details of all the local units, we have directed the Ministry of Health to serve the people by operating a hospital with the capacity of at least 15 beds in each of the local units," Damodar Regmi, spokesman of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) told Republica.

He informed that the instruction was given as per the decision of the Subedi-led committee taken on Sunday.

Dr Senendra Upreti, secretary at the MoH, said that the ministry is in initial phase to implement the order. "We are committed to implementing the decision. But it is not possible to implement it within a short period," he said.

According to him, around 110 government hospitals are serving the people across the nation. "We need to invest in more than 600 new hospitals, if we go through the new provision. It will take several years to complete the hospitals," Upreti added.

Likewise, the same committee also directed the Ministry of Education (MoE) to coordinate with the local education institutions. Shanta Bahadur Shrestha, secretary at MoE, informed that as per the committee's order they are working to assign an official to coordinate with the local education institutions in all 744 local units for the "transitional period".

However, the 744 local level government units are already in effect and have minimized the roles of the District Education Offices in all 75 districts under the federal setup. This has left the MoE 'perplexed' regarding the status of the existing education bodies and the Education Act.

"The services concerned with both the ministries directly concern the public. So, we have asked both the ministries to coordinate their services at the local level," said Regmi.